Although the movie "Snakes on a Plane" opened in the number one box office position for its debut weekend (August 18-21), its lower-than-expected $15.2 million gross was
considered a huge disappointment by the film industry. It was also a slap at the film's excessive and aggressive online buzz-building efforts, which many saw as a new chapter in
viral and digital PR campaigns. But if the snakes didn't scare up excitement, there are other online endeavors that deserve attention. This week's column will determine whether
these examples reflect the Good PR zooming at broadband superspeed or if they are Bad PR traveling at 9600 baud.
| The PR Focus | Good PR or Bad PR? |
|---|---|
| VCI Entertainment, one of the oldest independent home entertainment distributors, announced it has "become a part of the MySpace community."
Specializing in older cinema (including B-Western serials) and oddities such as the best of 1970s pro wrestling, VCI is using MySpace to announce new titles and special promotions. "We're elated by the response, acceptance and new-found interests of the largest audiences we've ever seen," says VCI vice president Don Blair in a press release. |
GOOD PR: For a smaller company serving a niche market, VCI is enjoying a win-win situation: MySpace offers a free, user-friendly PR vehicle
serving both its target consumer audience and the media outlets that can spread the VCI message further (the company's MySpace "friends" include influential publications such as Filmmaker Magazine and online movie sites like Monsters at Play and eFilmCritic.com). And, of course, VCI's news is also free PR for MySpace (which makes it a win-win-win situation). |
| The pharmaceutical industry is putting its money online - specifically, into Net advertising. An article in the August 17 edition of
Advertising Age cited an eMarketer report stating online display advertising for the nation's pharmaceutical companies should reach $780 million by the end of this year and $1.3 billion by 2008. Online media is (pardon the pun) a healthy resource for this sector: The same article noted 31.6 million Americans use the Internet as their primary source for health care information. |
GOOD & BAD PR: This is good PR for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, which is working to erase the unfavorable opinion that many consumers
have (see PR News July 24, "Why People Dislike Drug Companies"). The online medium is a perfect fit, in this case. However, this is bad PR for the public relations operations within the pharmaceutical industry. This heavier investment in advertising is not mirrored by an equally hefty monetary infusion into the PR side. |
| Many travel magazines have spun off online sites, but James H. Sherman is taking that equation in the opposite direction. The New York Times
reports that Sherman is evolving his ShermansTravel.com into a quarterly magazine aimed at consumers with an eye and wallet for luxury travel. This is not the first time a travel site sought to expand into traditional publishing - Expedia and Travelocity tried and failed earlier this decade. The first issue of Sherman's Travel Magazine, with coverage of Maui, Romania and New England's fall foliage, hits the stands in September. |
GOOD PR: At a time when magazine start-ups are few and far between, this is a healthy development for the publishing industry (especially the
ailing travel industry magazines). And Sherman has a good team on deck: MediaWeek reports Alan Stiles, former publisher of Esquire and Men's Fitness, will serve as publisher of the startup, with former Savoy publisher Henry Watkins is associate publisher. This is also good PR for ShermansTravel.com, whose brand recognition and Web traffic trails other online resources in this sector. |